Roaming costs in Australia

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Roaming costs in Australia - ouch!

lchiu7

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#72891 4-Dec-2010 07:17

My wife has just flown off to Oz for a few days. We thought we would keep in contact via SMS. But looking at the 2D web site it seems all texts she sends will be 80c! I have a monthly plan so presumably texts I send to her on her local 2D number will come out of the plan costs and so will the calls I make.

Alas calls to her will cost her $1/minute to receive them.

So at the moment I am not sure how best to communicate. Possibly for me to text her (free for both of us) and for her to text me back from a friend's (local) phone

Or maybe I try to setup Skype on her (iPhone 4) and use local wifi or wifi where she is staying.

I seem to recall when I was on VF if I roamed in Oz, then the costs were the same as if I were in NZ. I guess one advantage of a global player versus a local provider. There isn't enough time for her to get a local SIM card else that might have been the best option.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

kingjj

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#412736 4-Dec-2010 08:56

Vodafone's standard roaming costs are the same as those you listed? My misses racked up $15 in texts alone on her last trip and another $30 in calls (half of which were pocket dialed).

corksta

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#412738 4-Dec-2010 09:06

If you both use iPhones download an app called 'WhatsApp Messenger' for $1.29 (there are probably other similar apps) which allows you to send messages (in the same conversation style as normal text messenging) for free between the two phones.

The description says there are no international charges, so might be worth looking at as well.

lchiu7

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#412742 4-Dec-2010 09:13

kingjj: Vodafone's standard roaming costs are the same as those you listed? My misses racked up $15 in texts alone on her last trip and another $30 in calls (half of which were pocket dialed).

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Yes I just went to VF's site and it seems they don't have the deal now where if you roam on VF Australis, it's sort of like an extended calling area. The costs are about the same as 2D apart from outbound calls being 70c rather than $1.39ish.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

lchiu7

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#412744 4-Dec-2010 09:18

corksta: If you both use iPhones download an app called 'WhatsApp Messenger' for $1.29 (there are probably other similar apps) which allows you to send messages (in the same conversation style as normal text messenging) for free between the two phones.

The description says there are no international charges, so might be worth looking at as well.

She could also load a Gtalk client for the iPhone if such a beast exists and we could communicate using Gtalk. 2D charges $30/MB for data with 5KB increments and a minumum charge of 15c. I can't see Gtalk using much data at all. I wish I had set it up before she left since it's not going to be easy trying to talk her through setting it up over there.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

Teeps

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#412753 4-Dec-2010 09:55

Pingchat is free and you can gets apps for iOS, Android and BlackBerry so she could install that, it works cross platform but will only work for you if you have one of those devices too. I find it more reliable than WhatsApp even though I use both.

It will need a data connection to work though.

As for talking, why not install Skype, again needs data but the calls are free.

lchiu7

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#412756 4-Dec-2010 10:00

Skype only over wifi. The roaming cost for data are even worse.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

nzkc

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#412773 4-Dec-2010 11:16

Get her to buy a local sim card and use that. Did that last time I was in Oz (a wee while ago) for something like $20 and got $100 worth of credit - crazy stuff. Came back with loads still on it.

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lchiu7

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#412776 4-Dec-2010 11:29

nzkc: Get her to buy a local sim card and use that. Did that last time I was in Oz (a wee while ago) for something like $20 and got $100 worth of credit - crazy stuff. Came back with loads still on it.

Of course I thought of that but for 4 days it didn't seem worth the effort. Plus she would have to find a company who does local micro SIM cards (maybe quite common in OZ).

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

quickymart

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#412966 5-Dec-2010 10:19

I've never heard of texting costs when roaming being the same as here, on Vodafone or any NZ network.

keewee01

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#412968 5-Dec-2010 10:20

lchiu7:
nzkc: Get her to buy a local sim card and use that. Did that last time I was in Oz (a wee while ago) for something like $20 and got $100 worth of credit - crazy stuff. Came back with loads still on it.

Of course I thought of that but for 4 days it didn't seem worth the effort. Plus she would have to find a company who does local micro SIM cards (maybe quite common in OZ).

Check your bill once she gets back and see if you still don't think it is worth it for 4 days! :p

minigopher17

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#412991 5-Dec-2010 11:31

I went to Australia for 5 days last month. Bought a Virgin Mobile sim card on arrival which came preloaded with 300MB. Best AU$10 spent over there.

lchiu7

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#413005 5-Dec-2010 12:33

All good ideas but this trip was only purchased 3 days ago so not too much time for planning.

Plus I am not sure my wife would know to purchase a sim and make sure it worked in her iphone 4.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

Juicytree

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#413009 5-Dec-2010 12:52

I bought this prepay last time I was in Aussie for a week. $30 for the pack with, and if I remember correctly, $20 credit. Note that at $3 a day it is unlimited local calling and internet access and if you don't use your phone on any day there is nothing paid. The SIM card has a mini break out as well as a standard size breakout around the mini. One could use facebook to communicate back home.
BTW I used the SIM in my XT mobile